Born in Syria (Nacido en Siria)
Special Screening - Ajyal Youth Film Festival 2016
Hernán Zin / Feature Documentary / Denmark, Spain / 2016 / 84 min / Colour / DCP2K / In Arabic, English, French, German, Kurdish / Arabic, English subtitles / MENA Premiere
Rated: Parental guidance is advised for viewers under the age of 13. Individuals under the age of 13 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or older.
Synopsis
Among the great tragedies of our time, the ongoing conflict in Syria has received a great deal of international attention; not solely for the breadth and depth of the violence that has been visited on the Syrians themselves, but also as a result of the global impact of the tens of thousands of displaced people who have fled the threat of violence.
Understandably, the primary focus of those who choose to flee their war-ravaged homeland is simply reaching safety – itself a great challenge, since flight often necessitates a dangerous crossing of the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean. But, as ‘Born in Syria’ illustrates, leaving Syria behind is only the beginning of a series of difficulties. Unwelcoming nations en route to freedom, the tense and stressful conditions of refugee camps, the seemingly endless time it takes to get through the red tape of obtaining official status in a new country: all these obstacles stand in the way of the people who simply want to get on with the business of living their lives in peace.
Told from the point of view of several Syrian youths between the ages of 8 and 13, ‘Born in Syria’ paints a heartrending picture of a tragedy that requires more than just our attention. As citizens of the world, it is our duty to provide assistance to all displaced persons, and demand change to situations that strip them of their humanity.
About the Director
Hernán Zin was born in 1971 in Buenos Aires, where he studied International Relations. At the age of 22, he packed his bags and cameras and began traveling all over the world, filming documentaries and writing books. War and poverty are the main subjects of Hernan's work. In 1997, he travelled to India to shoot the documentary ‘Calcutta, Life in the Station of Death’ for Televisión Española. After that, he set up his own production company Contramedia Films, based in Madrid. In 2010, Zin received the International Award of the Spanish Television Academy for his defence of human rights. His documentaries include ‘Slum World’ (2009), ‘Quiero Ser Messi’ (2013), ‘War Against Women’ (2013) and ‘Born in Gaza’ (2014).
Credits
- Director
- Hernán Zin
- Screenwriter
- Hernán Zin, José F. Ortuño
- Producer
- Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo, Hernán Zin, Monica Hellström
- Editor
- José M.G. Moyano, Fátima de los Santos, Darío García
- Composer
- Gabriel Yared
- Music
- Gabriel Yared, Jean Pierre Ensuque
- Sales Company
- JAVA Films
- Production Company
- La Claqueta PC, Contramedia Films, Final Cut For Real